Rock
by Platinum Express
Summary: When Sirius meets Hermione, all those years later, she's married to a drug dealer, and struggling to support her child. The least he can do is be her rock. At least, until he wants more. Rated M for a reason.
1. A Phone Call

PROLOGUE

The phone began to ring as Hermione was helping Adam to tie his shoes. She quickly finished the knot, and handed him a banana, before heading to the foyer room to pick it up.

'That better be gone by the time I'm back,' she said sternly, casting him a glance over her shoulder. She pushed open the door that led to the foyer, and instantly, the volume of the phone's ringing multiplied. She hurriedly crossed over to the wickerwork table it rested on and picked up the receiver.

'Hello,' she said, her voice a little impatient.

There was a brief silence. The line crackled.

'Hello,' she said, again, beginning to lose her temper. She was sure Adam was simply staring at his banana, and she was determined to get something into his stomach before he went to school- which was in five minutes, she realized, glancing down at her watch.

'Is anybody there?' _I have better things to do with my time. _She waited for a second, and then let out an impatient huff, and was about to hang up when someone spoke.

'Hello,' said the voice. It was deep and gravelly. 'Is Draco Malfoy there?'

Hermione frowned. 'No,' she said, 'This is his wife speaking. Can I take a message?'

There was another pause, and a little snort of laughter. Hermione felt her temper rising again. She heard a little crash from the kitchen, followed by the sound of something spilling. Covering the mouthpiece with her hand, she yelled out, 'Adam, what are you doing?' before quickly transferring her attention back to the phone.

'Look, I don't have much time,' she said, shortly. 'So if you could just give me a message-'

'His wife, huh?' said the man at the other end. 'So you must be Hermione.'

Hermione's heart quickened. _How does he know my name?_

'Who is this?" she asked, speaking carefully. Another little thud from the kitchen.

'My name's Joe Arbuckle.'

'I don't think I know you.'

'Your husband does.' said Joe, with another stacatto laugh. 'Why don't you ask him?'

Hermione frowned. Her nerve ends were tingling lightly, as though warning her of some kind of danger.

'I'm sorry,' she said, quickly. 'I'll ask Draco to call you back when he gets home. Thank you, bye.'

'Hang on, one second!' Joe snapped, as she made to hang up. Hermione paused. 'What?'

'How's Adam?' he asked.

Hermione nearly dropped the receiver. Her heart began to pound even quicker, and she could hear the dull thudding in her ears.

'I'm sorry, what was that?"

'I asked, how's Adam?'

Suddenly, she was accutely conscious of Adam in the kitchen, could hear him chewing ruminatively on his banana, hear the dull thuds as he swung his legs against the kitchen cabinet. She bit her lip and struggled to keep the tremble from her voice.

'H-How do you know my son's name?' she asked, in a strangled voice. 'Who are you?'

Joe merely laughed, and hung up.

Hermione stood still for a few minutes, clutching the receiver so tightly her knuckles turned white. It was eight thirty in the morning, and the sun was already high in the sky, but she felt a chill creep over her face. She replaced the reciever, and then walked slowly and thoughtfully to the kitchen. Her own footsteps seems to echoe ominously around the house.

'Finished your breakfast?' she asked, as she entered the kitchen. Adam sat at the table, a banana peel on the surface next to his elbows. A glass of milk lay on the floor, shattered in three or four pieces.

'I dropped the tumbler,' he said, ruefully. 'I'm sorry, Mum.'

'That's alright, honey,' Hermione said, automatically. She chewed thoughtfully on her bottom lip. 'Adam, go put your coat on. Mum's dropping you to playschool today.'

Adam jumped and frowned. 'You never drop me to school,' he said, in a faintly accusing voice.

'Well, I'm going to now. Go up and get your coat while I get my purse.'

Adam raced up the stairs, while Hermione followed him a little more slowly. She pushed open her bedroom door, and breathed in the stale, stagnant air. The room had not been slept in last night. Draco was out of town on business, and she had slept with Adam the last night. She suddenly found herself wishing that Draco was here, and then wondering whether that would simply make things worse.

She crossed over to her wardrobe, and pulled out a black jacket, that she wrapped around her white tee shirt and jeans. Then, she pulled open a drawer at the back, and hesitated for a moment, before pulling out a gun. It was sharp and metallic, gleaming coolly in the pale morning light. Hermione tested its weight in her hands, before slipping it into her handbag along with her wand.

She reappeared in the kitchen, to find Adam, with his hair neatly brushed, his bright red jacket on, and his little knapsack slung over his shoulders. 'Ready, Mum?' he asked.

'Come on, honey.'

As she slid into the driver's seat of the car, Hermione found herself looking around, anxiously. The cottage was surrounded by dark, shady trees, the type Draco liked so much, and it suddenly struck her that anybody could be peering at them through those leafy branches. She heard the car door slam as Adam slipped into the seat beside her, and then started the engine, still looking around carefully.

'Mum, you're supposed to watch the road, while driving.'

'Of course I am, sweety. I just thought I saw a- a squirrel.' She pulled the car out of the garage, and then said, 'Adam, do me a favor and look around, will you. If you see any branches moving, or anything out of the ordinary, just tell me. It- it could be that squirrel again.'

'Okay,' said Adam, promptly, and he turned around in his seat and pressed his nose against the window. Hermione concentrated on pulling the car out onto the driveway, and then easing past the small rickety gate, that she had painted red. As they crossed it, she said, 'Well?'

'I didn't see a squirrel,' Adam said, turning around again, with his classic indifferent expression. 'But there was a man behind the wall in Mrs. Greene's garden.'

* * *

After dropping Adam to school, Hermione returned to the cottage with a feeling of trepidation. Suddenly, everything was was once familiar and comforting to her seemed steeped in danger. The red painted gate, with its colorful mailbox seemed to creak ominously as she pushed it open. She inspected the cobbled path that led to the porch for footsteps, but found none. The porch itself, with its brick facade, and bright Chinese lanterns was empty.

She sat down on a chair in the garden, still thinking about what Adam had said. A man behind the wall in Mrs. Greene's garden. Mrs. Greene was their neighbour, a elderly lady with bright red hair, and a large family of cats. The wall separating their gardens was low, and lined with ivy. She cast it a nervous glance as she sat, but there was not a soul in sight.

She had asked Adam what the man looked like, what he had been doing. He had been remarkably nonchalant.

'He had a brown beard,' he said, casually. 'I think he was looking at you, Mum. Maybe he knew you?'

_Maybe he didn't._ Hermione grasped her handbag, with her wand and the gun she had concealed in it, and walked around their garden to the wall. Mrs. Greene was sitting on a wickerwork chair in the sun on her lawn. Mr. Tibbles and Fluffy, the prime members of her cat family, were reposed elegantly beside her. Two gray kittens frolicked about nearby.

'Hello, Mrs. Malfoy,' she called out, cheerfully. 'Lovely morning, isn't it?'

'It's wonderful,' Hermione agreed. Her eyes scanned the wall. No hand-prints, no marks. 'How have you been?'

'Charming, of course. Tibble's cut his ear on a thornbush yesterday, so I had to patch it up for him. I saw you driving Adam to school today.'

'Oh, were you out?' asked Hermione hopefully. There was a chance, she supposed, that Adam had seen Mrs. Greene, and confused her for a man with a brown beard. She quashed this ridiculous thought the moment it entered her mind.

'Oh, no,' said Mrs. Greene, shaking her head. Her bright red hair flopped messily over her shoulders. 'I was in my bedroom, upstairs, watching out the window.'

Hermione felt her heart quicken again. She laughed nervously. 'It's strange,' she said. 'Adam thought he saw a man in your garden today. With a brown beard. He seemed quite certain of it.'

'Oh, that was just the TV repair man,' said Mrs. Greene, and Hermione felt a rush of relief, until she continued, 'It's so strange, he came knocking on my door, quite early in the morning. I hadn't called anyone, but apparently the TV company had sent him for a check up of some sort. He even asked to use my phone. Fluffy bit him, you know.'

_He even asked to use my phone. _Hermione felt another wave of nervousness. She leaned forward and cupped her chin in her hands.

'Talking about phones,' she said, 'Ours is acting up, as usual. Would you happen to have the number of the phone company?.'

'Of course I do, dear,' said Mrs. Greene. 'Come right in and I'll give it to you.'

Hermione went past her gate, and entered Mrs. Greene's garden. 'Do you mind if I make a quick call while you look for the number?' she asked, with a hopeful smile. 'I've been trying to call Draco since last night, but-'

'Of course you can,' said Mrs. Greene, and Hermione's smile widened. 'What are neighbour's for, after all. Come inside.'

She led her into the house, dark and somewhat dingy, with a strong smell of cats and overboiled stew. She pointed out the phone, that was on a round table in the alcove. 'Go right ahead and call your husband. I'll just go get the number of the company.'

Hermione waited till Mrs. Greene had gone upstairs, before picking up the reciever. Her fingers trembled as she punched the redial button. There was a slight buzzing, and then the line began to ring.

At the same time, she heard a faint ringing from her cottage, across the wall. She felt her tongue cleave itself to the roof of her mouth. The ringing continued, and then there was a beep.

'Hi, you've reached Draco and Hermione. Please leave a message after the tone.'

There was a beep. Hermione hung up.

* * *

Sirius sat alone, in his darkened office, a lantern set on the desk in front of him. He was smoking a cigarette, ashing every now and then into a ceramic tray that he had found at a Tibetan market. The file that was propped up in front of him was heavy and full of pages, but he was perusing them with utmost attention. Every now and then, he underlined a phrase or sentence with a thick pencil.

He inhaled deeply, and then looked up at the ceiling of his office. An unsettling sense of nervousness was beginning to quash him. He was just about to turn his attention back to the file, when he heard a light tapping on his window. Looking up, he saw a snowy white owl pecking reproachfully at the glass.

'Oh, hullo, Hedwig,' he said, getting up and undoing the catch. The owl flew in and settled on his desk. 'Letter from Harry?'

He carefully untied it, before giving the owl a few treats. She sat obstinately on his desk, obviously waiting for a reply. Sirius unscrolled the letter, and glanced through it.

Then, he grabbed a parchment from his desk, and a large plume and scrawled a few words.

_Of course I will. Just send me the address, will you?_

He tied it to Hedwig's leg, and watched her fly off into the darkness, until she was a mere speck in the sky. A small smile alighted on his face.


	2. Whiskey and Weed

CHAPTER 1

Draco agreed to come home in five minutes.

'I'll look for the nearest Apparation Portal and be right along,' he said, soothingly. 'Don't worry.'

'Well, hurry up,' Hermione said, worriedly. 'I'm going to have to go and pick Adam up from school in a few hours. There is no way in living hell that I'm letting him come back by the bus now.'

She hung up, and went back to the living room. She had locked and bolted the front door, and closed and shuttered all the windows, but she would have to wait for Draco to apparate back home before she could put up any magical wards. In the mean time, she felt weak and vulnerable. Standing near the window, she twitched a curtain to the side and peered outside.

The garden, and road beyond was deserted.

She sighed and headed back to the kitchen. Opening one of the cupboards, she drew out a bottle of Firewhiskey, and poured herself about two fingers in a heavily cut crystal tumbler. Seating herself at the kitchen table, she took a long swig and closed her eyes as she felt the alcohol burn its way down her throat and settle in her stomach. Fumbling in her pocket, she drew out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. She plucked one from the pack and slipped it into her mouth, but before she could light it, she heard a loud crack and Draco apparated into the kitchen.

Immediately, she was on her feet, and a split second later in his arms. She felt him wrap his own arms around her and sighed into his shoulder.

'I came as quickly as I could.' he said, gently. 'Sit down and tell me all about it.'

As he walked over to the table, Hermione watched him swagger a little. Her eyes focused on his face, the deadly pallor of his skin, and his hooded bloodshot eyes. Every now and then, he ran his lips over the serrated edge of his teeth. As he sat down on the chair, he slumped a little, and his eyes closed briefly and then opened again.

Hermione frowned at his behavor. And then, suddenly, she put her finger on it.

'You're stoned,' she said, calmly.

Draco looked up blearily at her. His straw colored hair, normally fine and elegant, looked scuffed, as though he had just got out of bed. The navy colored travelling robes that he wore were covered in dust.

'I had a joint along the way,' he said, evasively.

'So let me get this straight.' Hermione said, staking a step forward and balancing her hands on her hips. 'I called you to tell you that _our son_ was in danger, and you chose to smoke a _joint _before coming over?'

'Hermione, there's no need to overreact-'

'Overreact!' she snapped. 'You think I'm overreacting? Do you have any idea how fucking scared I was when that- that man said our son's name on the telephone, Draco? Do you know how scared I was when Adam _saw_ him spying on us? All this-' she waved her hands wildly, her eyes narrowed in anger and mouth twisted in a hard line- 'is because of _you_, Draco and what you do!'

Draco sighed, and pressed both his palms against his eyes. He seemed to be struggling to concentrate. Finally, he said, 'What was that man's name, again?'

'Joe Arbuckle,' Hermione said, instantly. 'He said he knew you.'

Draco groaned, and folded his hands on the table top.

'Joe Arbuckle,' he echoed, 'What the _fuck_ is that bastard doing here?'

'Who is he?' asked Hermione, her eyes narrowed. 'How do you know him?'

Draco paused for a moment, and Hermione got the impression that he was trying to marshall his thoughts against the marijuana.

'He used to be part of out gang,' he said, finally. 'He was in charge of recruiting new members and salesmen. But he got a little greedy, and tried to run off with a whole shipment of heroin. I think all the money turned his head a bit. It does that, with a lot of these young fellows.' He added, shaking his head ruefully.

'I'm not going to pretend I give a flying fuck as to what the condition of Joe Arbuckle's head is,' Hermione said, coldly. 'Just tell me what went wrong and why he's after you.'

'Well, I found out he was trying to make a run for it, and sent a couple of the boys after him.' Draco said. 'I think his girlfriend got killed in the tussle. He's always held my responsible for that, but he never really did anything about it.'

'Well, I have news for you, Draco,' Hermione said, in a tight, cold voice. 'He's doing plenty with it right now. He's spying on us, and threatening our child. Now the question is- what are you going to do about it?'

'I'll handle it,' Draco said, wearily. He grabbed the glass of whiskey that Hermione had poured out before he came and drained it in one gulp.

'You better,' Hermione said, warningly. 'Make some calls, pull some strings- I don't care what it takes you, but I want this guy out of the picture.'

Draco simply nodded.

* * *

Sirius walked down the gravelly path that led to the Burrow, his shoes scraping against the small stones with each step he took. His robes were dark and worn, but fit him perfectly. His wand was held at ready inside one of his pockets, and he held the letter from Harry in the other hand.

As he opened the door and stepped inside, he was greeted by the usual bubble of noise that characterized all his visits to the Burrow. Somewhere, he could hear Molly and George having a shouting match over something she had found in his room. Tonks and Remus were seated at the kitchen table along with Bill and Fleur, and they were playing a raucous game of Bluff. As he entered, Tonks glanced down at her cards, and her eyes widened and she pointed accusingly at the card Bill had just thrown down.

'Bluff!' she said, triumphantly. 'Bluff, bluff, bluff!'

'Argh,' said Bill, in aggravation. He scooped up the cards on the table and added them to his fan. Glancing up, he caught sight of Sirius and grinned.

'Morning, Sirius. Came to see someone in particular?'

Remus swung his head around as well. 'Is it Harry?' he asked.

Sirius nodded. 'Just wanted a few words with him.' he said.

'Well, he's in the garden with Ron,' said Remus, and turned back to his game.

Sirius nodded gratefully, and headed back to the garden. He found Harry and Ron in deep conversation, with grave expressions etched on their faces.

'What's wrong?' he asked, walking up to them.

Harry turned to face his godfather, his eyes worried.

'I sent you the address,' he said, slowly, 'Did you get it?'

Sirius shook his head. 'Must have crossed paths with it. I waited for a while, and then came over. I don't get it though- why do you want me to do this, exactly?'

Ron pressed his lips together, and then said, 'We had a meeting with Sean Pennery today.'

Sirius looked a little surprised. 'The Head of Information? How come?'

'Everard wanted us to talk to him about something. Apparently, some new information has come in on the Malfoy case.'

Sirius's eyes narrowed with interest. 'The Malfoy case.' he repeated. 'Draco Malfoy, your childhood tormentor, also one of the biggest gang lords in Britain?'

'That's the one,' said Harry, with a humorless smile. 'The Dep's been a little uncertain about him for a while, but we're pretty sure we have some concrete evidence now.'

'Yes, I know that,' Sirius said, nodding. 'Everard and I had this discussion just yesterday. He seems to want to get this whole case over with as quickly as possible.'

'I can't blame him,' Ron said, shaking his head. 'Malfoy isn't exactly small fish. But- that's not what we wanted to talk to you, about.'

'Then what is?' asked Sirius, adding, 'I assume this has something to do with Hermione.'

Harry and Ron both looked startled.

'How do you know?' asked Harry.

'That Hermione married Malfoy?' asked Sirius. 'It's common knowledge. The whole Dep found out when they got married. They have a kid as well, don't they?'

Harry nodded. 'His name's Adam.'

'Have you ever met him?' asked Sirius.

There was a pause, and then Harry shook his head.

'We haven't- we haven't spoken to Hermione since she got married,' he said, quietly. 'Everyone here thinks- well, they think that we just drifted apart, but that's not true. We had the mother of all arguments when she told us she was going to marry him. She got offended, and well- we said some unkind things as well. And now I don't know if she's in danger or not, but there's no way she's going to let us help her out. I sent her a letter a week back, and I didn't get any reply.'

Sirius nodded, and then frowned. 'You're worried about her,' he clarified, 'Now that she's associated with Malfoy.'

Harry nodded. 'Like crazy.'

'Well, then,' said Sirius, 'What do I have to do with it?'

Harry and Ron exchanged glances, and then looked back at him.

'Sirius- mate,' Ron said, 'We just figured that since you were away for all those years, Hermione wouldn't associate that- that fight she had with us with _you._ She'd probably be a lot more receptive if you were the one helping her.'

Sirius sighed, and shoved his hands into the pockets of his robes.

'You want me to help her.' he clarified.

'That's right.'

'That's why you asked me to go talk to her.'

Harry nodded.

Sirius considered this for a moment.

'All right,' he said, finally, 'I will.'

* * *

Draco drifted off to sleep on the dining table at about twelve, and Hermione had to hover his body up to the bedroom and into the bed. Leaning over to tuck him in, she smelled the sweet, cloying smell of weed on his breath and winced. Rifling through the pockets of his robes she found two packets of the crushed drug, and flung them onto the table. She pointed her wand at them, and muttered, '_Evanesco_.'

Heading back downstairs, she picked up her coat and her car keys. It was time, she figured, to go pick up Adam. She decided it made sense to go a little early. She would wait outside, and then see if anybod suspicious was loitering around the school. Perhaps she could talk to Mrs. Greene on the way out and find out if the telly repair man had returned.

She wrapped the black coat around herself, and slipped the key into the pocket. Picking up her box of cigarettes from the dining table, and telling herself she could smoke one on the way, she was just about to leave when the telephone rang again.

Immediately, Hermione winced. The telephone shrilled once more, the noise cutting through the still silence of the house like a knife through butter. She eyed it warily.

_What if it was Joe Arbuckle again?_

'It cannot possibly get worse than the call you had this morning,' she reminded herself. Moving towards the phone, she gently picked up the reciever and pressed it to her ear.

'Hello?'

'Mrs. Malfoy? Is that you?'

She frowned. It was an unfamiliar female voice. 'Yes.' she said. 'Who is this.'

'This is Mrs. Graham,' said the voice. Hermione tensed. Mrs. Graham was Adam's playschool teacher.

'What's the matter?' she asked. 'Is everything all right?'

There was a pause, and then Mrs. Graham said, 'Mrs. Malfoy, I'm sorry, but there's been a terrible accident...'

* * *

**Author's Note- I'm so, so sorry about the long delay in updating this laptop just crashed for some strange reason, and now I'm using my mum's old one, which means I have to rewrite everything. Next chapter should come a little quicker, though.**


End file.
